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LJ Ross
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Holy Island: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 1) Kindle Edition

by LJ Ross (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 47,977 ratings
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THE AMAZON UK NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

"LJ Ross is the queen of Kindle" - Sunday Telegraph

"She keeps company with the best mystery writers" - The Times

"Holy Island is a blockbuster" - Daily Express

"A literary phenomenon" - Evening Chronicle

Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective. A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby Priory.

When former local girl Dr Anna Taylor arrives back on the island as a police consultant, old memories swim to the surface making her confront her difficult past. She and Ryan struggle to work together to hunt a killer who hides in plain sight, while pagan ritual and small-town politics muddy the waters of their investigation.

Murder and mystery are peppered with a sprinkling of romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set on the spectacular Northumbrian island of Lindisfarne, cut off from the English mainland by a tidal causeway.

"Superbly written. Well thought out plot and in-depth knowledge of the location made this a must read book. Can't wait for the next one."

"Brilliant, fantastic, many more words I could say. This book was totally gripping from start to finish and the ending had me mentally saying 'oh no what next'. Can't wait for her next book."

"I have never been to Lindisfarne but will definitely plan to go after reading this book. I enjoyed it tremendously, with enough pace and story telling to keep me engrossed. What an imagination!"

"I couldn't put this book down from the minute I picked it up! A great mix of thriller, romance, intrigue with a hint of humour."

"I love a crime novel and this one did not disappoint! Great twists and turns and good ending. Looking forward to the next one."

"Great page turner, with a lively plot that holds numerous twists and turns; keeps you guessing until the very end. Fab new author - well done!"
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 21
    The DCI Ryan Mysteries
  2. Print length
    316 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    December 31, 2014
  6. File size
    1122 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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  1. Her skin crawled, icy tentacles snaking up her back as the line between past and present blurred for a painful moment.
    Highlighted by 244 Kindle readers
  2. Maxwell Charles Finley-Ryan. He preferred just ‘Ryan’. Life was complicated enough without adding a series of ridiculous names into the mix.
    Highlighted by 221 Kindle readers
  3. Jealousy came in many forms, Ryan decided, and every one of them was ugly.
    Highlighted by 216 Kindle readers
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Editorial Reviews

Review


"LJ Ross is the queen of Kindle" -The Sunday Telegraph (August 2015)

"Holy Island is a blockbuster!" -The Daily Express (August 2015)

"LJ Ross keeps company with the best mystery writers" -The Times (February 2017)

"She burst like a comet onto the literary scene" -Culture Editor, The Journal (October 2016)

"A literary phenomenon!" -The Chronicle (October 2016)

"Stunning! A brilliant, modern-day murder mystery" -Relax and Read Book Reviews (March 2016)

"A thrilling rollercoaster of a novel" -Haphazardous Hippo Reviews (March 2016)

"A completely thrilling read - I loved it!" - Bibliophile Book Club (November 2015)

"A rollercoaster of a read with plenty of thrills and chills... I really love the style of this author's writing" -By the Letter Book Reviews (August 2016)

"This was an absolutely astounding debut. The writing was sublime, the characters so vivid and the beautiful Northumbrian coast described with such a passion that only a true Northerner can conjure" -The Book Magnet (July 2016)

"Ross's descriptive prose is breathtaking" -Emma the Little Bookworm (December 2016)

About the Author

LJ Ross is the author of the #1 international bestselling series of DCI Ryan mystery novels and her books have sold more than three million copies since 2015. She has released ten full-length novels, seven of which have reached number one in the Amazon UK Kindle best-sellers chart. They are available to purchase in e-book, print and audiobook narration on the Amazon store.

Her eleventh novel, 'The Infirmary', is a prequel story which will be available in e-book and print on 10th February 2019. It is already available as a major Audible Originals drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Hermione Norris and Alun Armstrong.

Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Law at King's College London and studied abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a regulatory lawyer for a number of years before taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write.

Now, she writes full time and lives with her husband and son in Northumberland. She enjoys reading all manner of books, travelling and spending time with family and friends.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00RPSQAG8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kindle Direct Publishing (December 31, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 31, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1122 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 316 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1514642824
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 47,977 ratings

About the author

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LJ Ross

LJ Ross

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LJ Ross is an international bestselling author, best known for creating atmospheric mystery and thriller novels, including the DCI Ryan series of Northumbrian murder mysteries which have sold over 8 million copies worldwide.

"Lady's Well" (the 20th book in her DCI Ryan series) is available in ebook format now, with paperback and audio formats coming soon!

Her debut, Holy Island, was released in January 2015 and reached number one in the Amazon UK and Australian charts. Since then, she has released more than twenty further novels, all of which have been top three global bestsellers and most of which have been UK #1 bestsellers. Louise has garnered an army of loyal readers through her storytelling and, thanks to them, most of her books reached the coveted #1 spot whilst only available to pre-order ahead of release. Her eleventh novel, "The Infirmary", is a prequel story and is also available as a major Audible Originals audio-drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris and Alun Armstrong.

In addition to her DCI Ryan series, Louise has created a new series of thriller novels based around the central character of ‘Dr Alexander Gregory’, whose work as a psychological profiler takes him around the world. The first three books (Impostor, Hysteria and Bedlam) were #1 bestsellers and the fourth book was released in March 2022 (Mania). They were narrated in audio by the actors Hugh Dancy (Impostor & Hysteria) and Richard Armitage (Bedlam & Mania).

"The Cove" (the first book in her new Summer Suspense Mysteries series) was released in 2021 and followed up by "The Creek" in 2022. This is a new series of standalone romantic suspense novels featuring strong female protagonists. "The Bay" will follow in summer 2023.

The novels all are available to purchase in e-book, paperback and audiobook formats on the Amazon store, as well as in libraries and book shops around the world.

Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full-time and lives with her family Northumberland, where she enjoys reading all manner of books, travelling and spending time with family and friends.

Louise is a keen philanthropist, and is pleased to have supported numerous non-profit programmes in addition to founding several of her own, including the Lindisfarne Reading Challenge and the Lindisfarne Prize for Debut Crime Fiction.

If you would like to connect with LJ Ross, she would be very happy to hear from you:

https://www.facebook.com/LJRossAuthor

https://twitter.com/ljross_author

http://www.ljrossauthor.com

www.lovesuspense.com

lj_ross@outlook.com

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
47,977 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Natalie Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars A page-turning series introduction
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2022
Verified Purchase
Holy Island is the perfect setting for a locked room Murder mystery. It’s natural geography as a tidal island spares readers an overly contrived snowed-in motel or other such common device. It also enticed me to read the book since I loved visiting there in 2014 and I had an easy time picturing all the locations. Det. Ryan’s backstory is well woven into the plot, and Ross is an excellent and intelligent author, a step above some of the thriller fluff popular today. I had my guesses about who was or was not a culprit and it’s not all that hard to get it partially right but it would be a challenge to guess with 100% accuracy. Looking forward to continuing with this series even though I’m a late-comer.
3 people found this helpful
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Witz End
4.0 out of 5 stars First Of A Series
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2024
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The book is well written and I like the characters. Would have liked to follow them in subsequent books but the subject matter is going to pursue a plot line that I know I won't enjoy. So I will look for another series to read.
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Per Gunnar
3.0 out of 5 stars Some good stuff, quite a bit of rubbish.
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2022
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The Ryan character is good. A bit OTT, but not so much it bothers me. Also, the investigation is thrilling to follow. But the rest of it, the bad guys, that is such drivel! I seriously considered giving it one star, but landed on a dubious three stars.
One person found this helpful
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BERNICE F.
5.0 out of 5 stars Clever convoluted theme
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2024
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The main character is likable, setting is unique to me and the complexity is intriguing.
I would suggest reading these in order, I accidentally started with the newest one and promptly began purchasing the remaining books in order. My library couldn’t supply them.
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Keith
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2017
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This is a good read with some surprises and interesting characters. Took me a while to get into it but was hooked about halfway through.

The North East of England has become a hotbed of Crime Writing with authors such as Ann Cleeves (Vera stories), Mari Hannah and Howard Linskey. A bit like "Nordic Noir" but in England instead of Scandanavia.

Northumbria is a beautiful area with amazing places such as Holy Island the location of this book. Over a thousand years of history from the Romans, through Venerable Bede to the present day can be found in places such as Hadrians Wall (inspiration for the wall in Game of Thrones) Lindisfarne and Durham Cathedral.

I recommend reading "The King of the North" by Max Adams as a way to get a sense of the history. Also the central character in Bernard Cornwell's Saxon Chronicles comes from Bamburgh Castle.
7 people found this helpful
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Debra Bernard
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite authors
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024
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I purchased this book after visiting Holy Island and the Northumberland coast.
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W. Taylor
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2023
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I am new to this author and wasn’t sure what to expect. Interesting story line and intriguing characters. The conclusion was a surprise. Looking forward to the next installment.
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Mb4pax
5.0 out of 5 stars On to the next book in the series.
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2017
Verified Purchase
LJ Ross defines why I enjoy UK detective/mystery stories so much. DCI Ryan, swimming in guilt from a previous case, all the residents of Holy Island, DS Phillips, and Dr. Anna Taylor (to name a few) ran me a merry chase with this one. Coming from a USA point of view, it is refreshing and thoroughly entertaining to read of the similarities and differences between investigative techniques. Ms. Ross does a fine job developing appealing and unappealing characters, describing crime scenes and settings. Although I never visited Holy Island or its surrounds, it felt as though I lived there, but glad I didn't during my reading of the book. Well done all around.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Lyn Blackman
5.0 out of 5 stars Great action
Reviewed in Canada on February 1, 2024
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Fast paced detective thriller. Looking frward
to reading a lot more. Recommend for anyone who loves police thrillers as I do.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars The circle
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 5, 2024
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Absolutely brilliant read enjoyed every bit of it. Away to start on book 2 now. Like a good book that keeps you gripped from beginning to end.
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Capt Colin D. Welch
5.0 out of 5 stars Memories
Reviewed in Spain on March 7, 2023
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L.J. Ross is a new author to us, but coming from the North East of England, she brings back memories/locations in well written novels. Give her a try everyone.
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SkiMum
1.0 out of 5 stars Too predictable
Reviewed in the Netherlands on November 1, 2022
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A police officer getting whacked over the head, the girl getting rescued in the nick of time. It was so predictable, I found it hard to continue reading, which was a novel experience. Not a series I will continue, despite the rather good cliffhanger
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timbalix
5.0 out of 5 stars nie langweilig oder zäh!
Reviewed in Germany on August 8, 2022
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WOW! Nachdem ich die Örtlichkeiten aus persönlicher Erfahrung kenne, hat das Lesen so richtig Spaß gemacht! Sofort nach Beendigung des thrillers habe ich mir drei weitere bestellt, die ich demnächst verschlingen werde. Ryan is my hero!
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